Seasons
by PrincessPadfoot18
Summary: Before, during, and after the Battle of Hogwarts, Michael Corner's internal struggle surfaces and he must make hard choices in order to survive.
1. Winter

Winter: A Michael Corner Story

Michael Corner had never been so terrified in his entire life. His breathing quickened, and his palms began to sweat. He hastily wiped them on his torn blue jeans and continued to listen to the excited chatter around the room. All the people that once were in Dumbledore's Army were assembled in the Room of Requirement anxiously awaiting Neville's return. Supposedly he had gone to fetch Harry Potter from the Hog's Head.

He could care less at this point. All he wanted now was for it to be over, for the killing and the bloodshed and the running and hiding to be done with. He wanted his life to go back to the way it was before this all happened. He wanted to go back to Ravenclaw tower and lay on the midnight blue carpet and stare up and the stars on the ceiling. He wanted to laugh again. How he wished he could laugh or even smile again.

His own personal winter. That's what this was. A cold and dark place full of hopelessness and despair. Even if Potter came through the portrait and told us he was here to fight and that he had done all the fantastical things they had heard through the wireless, he would still want to go back. He hated feeling like this.

In the span of about five seconds everything changed. Harry climbed through the portrait hole and suddenly Michael didn't feel so hopeless. The time away from Hogwarts had changed Harry. He looked tougher, meaner almost. His fierce look of determination sparked something within him that was enough to temporarily warm up his winter.

But the news Harry brought had that temporary spark put out in an instant. He wasn't here to fight, he was here to look for something. He addressed the Ravenclaws and Michael was spared having to answer by a newly arrived Cho Chang. He was looking for the Diadem. What on earth?

Anger boiled up inside of him. Stupid Harry Potter was here for a lost trinket and he had the nerve to tell us that he wasn't going to fight? No doubt his presence here would attract you-know-who, and then where would we be? Potter would be off searching for something that had been lost for ages and we would be left here to fight his battle? How was that fair?

He looked around at all the eager faces and suddenly knew what he wanted most, but he had no idea how to achieve it. What he wanted most of all, was to be happy again. Could he be happy again?

He pondered this as Harry and Luna left the Room of Requirement and those around him broke off into separate conversations. Cho Chang asked him a question and he ignored her. He stood up and walked over to his hammock. He picked up his ragged blue and bronze jacket and threw it to the floor. He climbed in and waited for the noise to die down. Eventually he heard Ron and Hermione approach and he curled into a small ball to avoid detection. They were whispering to each other.

"…even if we find the diadem how are we supposed to destroy it?" Ron asked in a fierce whisper.

"I don't know Ron, I've been thinking about that as well." Hermione responded. They stayed quiet for a moment and his heart felt like ice. So Potter was here to destroy the last remaining remnant of the founder of his house?

He knew he should have been angrier with the lot of them. But he felt next to nothing. He turned and looked up at the Ravenclaw tapestry hanging on the wall. If only there were a way to make it so that he could think properly again. He missed being able to puzzle himself out of any situation. But there was no quick fix out of this one. He'd had to use all of his knowledge and logic to even survive the beating he received for freeing that first year a while back. His arms still bore the scars from that night.

He became more and more angry as the minutes passed. His fists began shaking violently and he knew that there was only one way out of this. He quickly stood up and stalked across the room. Several people called out greetings to him, but he thoroughly ignored them. He walked past a group of Gryffindors and was stopped by Lavender Brown.

"You're Michael right?" She asked.

He stood there and pondered his options. He could blow her off, but he knew that she would just follow him and he didn't particularly want to be followed right now. He decided that the best course of action would be to just figure out whatever she wanted and give it to her.

"Yes." was his response.

"Oh cool! You can help us then. We are going over all the spells we learned in DA and we were wondering if you wanted to practice with us. We need one more to make the pairs even." She smiled up at him and he frowned back. He wondered if he could pawn this off onto someone else, but in the end decided to just do it. Maybe it would relieve some of his anger.

He ended up being paired with Lavender. She was quite good at deflecting spells but her aim was off slightly. She tended to aim more toward the right leaving her opponent the chance to dodge left and counterattack. He would have pointed this out but at that exact moment he noticed that Harry had returned.

Michael turned and listened as Harry announced that they were going to fight and the excitement in the room was both visible and physically felt. Michael wished that Harry would get on with it already. Michael half listened as Harry told them that everyone was meeting in the Great Hall.

Michael realized that he was expected to move as everyone pushed and shoved their way out of the room of requirement. He let himself be jostled about and decided that he could at least stay to hear the battle plan. As he was making his way down, Lavender caught up with him.

"I'm excited!" She squealed as they were pushed along. He merely smiled in response. Lavender could probably sense his inner doubt and said, "But I'm also terrified."

He looked down at her and she clutched his arm and pulled him aside.

"I don't want to die." She confessed to him. Her face turned a little pink. She quickly shook her head and amended, "That's not right. I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to put my family through that again."

A single tear escaped her eye. Michael quickly wiped it away and gave her a smile. "You'll be alright." He assured her, but he knew that it wasn't the truth. He knew that in the end they might all die and that was something he was not prepared to deal with.

Lavender looked around and then turned back to Michael. "I'm still scared." She said with a half smile. He looked down at her shining eyes and he couldn't help but feel something stir inside him.

"We'll stick together okay?" He assured, "You and I can watch each other's backs." He gave her the biggest smile he could fake and watched for her reaction.

She smiled wider, "Okay then." She was a bit more chipper as she took his hand and they made their way down to the Great Hall.

His winter didn't seem so cold anymore as he looked at her and smiled.


	2. Spring

Spring: A Michael Corner Story

'Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage' ~ Lao Tzu

One of Michael Corner's favorite places in all of Hogwarts was the Great Hall. He loved to sit and stare at the changing ceiling, but most of all he loved laughing at the Ravenclaw table with his fellow Ravenclaws.

There was no laughter there today. All of Hogwarts was gathered in the Great Hall to prepare for the upcoming battle. Michael had a sick feeling in his stomach as he looked around at all the people in the great hall. He looked toward the entrance and spotted Luna Lovegood strolling in with her wand raised. She walked toward him and he saw a faint smile on her lips.

She stopped when she had reached him and in her airy voice said, "Don't worry Michael, just remember: With Wit We Will Win." She smiled at her own little joke and bounced past him taking a seat near the front.

Michael often wondered what went through Luna's head. She was odd and yet at the same time fascinating. He often would follow her around and spy her talking to the people in the portraits or wearing those funny glasses. There was no doubt in his mind that she was crazy.

Michael was prodded in the back by Terry Boot. He turned around to give his friend a stern look when Terry motioned for him to listen to the Professors and other various adults lined up at the front of the Great Hall. Obviously they intended to make some sort of speech.

Michael hated speeches. Like really hated them. No matter how hard he tried, or how moving or emotional the speech was he always found himself zoning out. He tried to listen to the adults chatter, but his mind kept wandering to strange places. He kept thinking about love and his dream of one day starting a family. That dream wouldn't come true for him. He knew that.

You see, he had never pictured Luna amongst the dead lost in the upcoming battle, but he always knew that he would die here today. Even if they were victorious, his life held no meaning now and he knew that would not change when the battle was over.

He stopped trying to focus on the adults up front, he knew that his best chance would be to just go blindly into the fight. With his mind made up, he let his eyes wander. He looked over to the Gryffindor table where he saw a few familiar faces. Lavender Brown caught his eye and gave him a shy smile before turning red and looking into her lap.

Odd, he thought. Why would she blush at me? His thoughts were slow and sluggish. He hadn't slept in days and it was wearing him down. He shook his head trying to puzzle out why a girl would blush at him. He looked down at his tattered jeans and his ripped shit.

He realized that he had hardened up in this past year. He had grown another six inches and had gained some much needed muscle. He looked pretty fit if he did say so. He looked back at Lavender and watched her face. She wore a look of the utmost concentration and he saw that she had her wand out and was practicing movements.

She wanted to survive. He could see that now. He looked around and found similar looks of concentration and seriousness of various faces. His fellow students didn't want to die. They wanted to stand and fight and win if they could. Michael wanted those things too, but he knew the outcome for him would be different.

He knew that he was going to die and that some of his friends might die today. He might never again see Terry or Cho Chang or Professor Flitwick or that crazy Luna Lovegood. He might never again be able to sit here in the Great Hall surrounded by those he had come to know and care about. He might never see Lavender Brown blush again.

He quickly ducked hi head to hide his own blush. Why in the heck was he blushing? He quickly adjusted the look on his face and peeked over at Lavender. She was looking right at him. There gaze met and in that moment the world stopped moving. Everything was still and calm. She smiled effortlessly and he did the same.

His insides burst forth with new life. His fatigue was replaced with a burring desire to survive and meet the new day. He looked at Lavender and knew that she was the reason for this new found life. His eyes welled up with emotion and he gave her a small nod.

She beamed at him at he found that he was floating high. He loved her.

He pulled his attention back to the front. Trying to really concentrate now. He had to stay alive long enough to tell Lavender how he felt. Terry Boot prodded him again and motioned over to the Slytherin table. Michael could see that the inhabitants of said table were whispering amongst themselves. What a load of tosh! They were grinning evilly and Michael swore he saw one of them make a rude hand gesture toward the teachers up front.

But nothing boiled Michael over more than when Pansy stood up and opened her mouth. She was such a pig sometimes. Michael stood and raised his wand. He noticed that others had done the same. He smiled to himself as McG dismissed the Slytherins and he watched them exit the great hall en masse. The other younger students followed, while some of the braver students remained where they stood. It was now or never.

Michael made his way over to where Lavender stood. He took her hand and she turned to look at him. Her smile could melt the soul of any young man and Michael was no exception. He gave her his best smile and together they left the great hall.

An unspoken agreement passed through them then. Stick Together. Fight together. Live together. He took her hand and headed up the stairs to the astronomy tower. They were going to be with the group of students that were to fire spells down from up above. He liked this vantage point because it gave them the high ground and he knew that the people with the high ground didn't die. Or he hoped so.

They had almost reached the top of the tower when Lavender pulled him aside. She placed her hand on the side of his face and reached up to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. He responded with a little over eagerness on his part, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Oi, lovebirds!" A sixth year Hufflepuff whose name he couldn't remember at that moment, "There's a battle going on! Get your butts up here!"

Michael and Lavender blushed as they made their way up the ladder and out into the darkness. They could feel the anxiousness of those around them. Lavender squeezed his hand and he gently squeezed back. They simultaneously pulled there wands out and prepared for what was to come.

Michael's new life gave him the courage to face what was to come, and the strength to live through the night and greet the dawn with the girl he loved by his side.


End file.
